Pinoy lawyer invited to Trump inaugural

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino lawyer Jordan Pizarras, legal counsel for American businessman Timothy Strong, will be among the few Filipinos attending the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump today, according to a press statement sent to The STAR.

A symbol of US support, the invitation to Pizarras was extended by US House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a prominent Republican leader and supporter of strengthened US-Philippine relations.

Emmer’s endorsement of Pizarras’ presence at the historic inauguration signals Washington’s commitment to upholding the 2016 ruling of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Arbitral Tribunal, which declared China’s nine-dash line claims in the West Philippine Sea as lacking any legal basis.

The tribunal further affirmed the Philippines’ sovereign rights over the Reed Bank and ruled that China’s operations in the area were unlawful.

The invitation to Pizarras, who hails from Bohol, underscores the United States’ commitment to strengthening ties with the Philippines, particularly on shared concerns over China’s maritime claims in the West Philippine Sea.

Strong, a significant shareholder of PXP Energy Corp., is at the helm of efforts to develop Service Contract (SC) 72, located in the Reed Bank/Recto Bank basin, west of Palawan Island.

PXP Energy, a London-listed company, secured the rights to explore the energy-rich SC 72 concession, which lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone as defined under the UNCLOS.

Pizarras is running for representative of the first district of Bohol in the May 12 midterm elections.